Patentable/Patents/US-9641912
US-9641912

Intelligent playback resume

PublishedMay 2, 2017
Assigneenot available in USPTO data we have
Inventorsnot available in USPTO data we have
Technical Abstract

A method for resuming playback of a media content is disclosed. The method includes receiving a playback resume command, initiating a counter to an initial value, moving a playback pointer back a first preset duration in the media content, checking for silence at the playback pointer, incrementing the counter by the first preset duration and comparing the counter with a second preset duration. If the counter is greater than the second preset duration, resuming the playback of the media content from the playback pointer.

Patent Claims
20 claims

Legal claims defining the scope of protection. Each claim is shown in both the original legal language and a plain English translation.

Claim 1

Original Legal Text

1. A method for resuming playback of a media content, comprising: (a) receiving a playback resume command; (b) initiating a counter to an initial value; (c) moving a playback pointer back a first preset duration in the media content; (d) checking for silence at the playback pointer; (e) incrementing the counter by the first preset duration; and (f) comparing the counter with a second preset duration, wherein if the counter is greater than the second preset duration, resuming the playback of the media content from the playback pointer.

Plain English Translation

When resuming media playback, this method moves the playback pointer back a short, preset time (first preset duration). It then checks if there's silence at that new pointer location. A counter is incremented by the first preset duration, and compared to another (second) preset duration. If the counter exceeds this second duration, playback resumes from the pointer. The counter is initially set to a starting value. The purpose is to skip back slightly to account for user reaction time to pausing the media.

Claim 2

Original Legal Text

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein if a pause operation is performed at a silence location in the media content and if the duration of the silent location is greater than the second preset duration, the playback of the media content is resumed from the location where the pause operation was performed.

Plain English Translation

Building on the previous description, if the media was paused during a silent part, and the length of that silence is longer than the second preset duration, playback resumes from where the pause happened. This prevents skipping back unnecessarily if the user paused during a natural silence.

Claim 3

Original Legal Text

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first preset duration is provided by a user.

Plain English Translation

Building on the initial description, the amount to move the playback pointer back initially (the first preset duration) can be set by the user. This allows users to customize the skip-back duration to their preference.

Claim 4

Original Legal Text

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second present duration is provided by a user.

Plain English Translation

Building on the initial description, the maximum amount to move the playback pointer back (the second preset duration) can be set by the user. This allows users to control how far back the system will search for a non-silent point to resume from.

Claim 5

Original Legal Text

5. The method of claim 1 , further including calculating the first preset duration through scanning of the media content.

Plain English Translation

Building on the initial description, instead of a fixed time, the system automatically calculates the initial skip-back duration (first preset duration) by analyzing the media content for silence. This could involve scanning the media to find the typical lengths of silent gaps.

Claim 6

Original Legal Text

6. The method of claim 1 , further including calculating the second present duration through scanning of the media content.

Plain English Translation

Building on the initial description, instead of a fixed time, the system automatically calculates the maximum allowed skip-back duration (second preset duration) by analyzing the media content. This could be based on the typical duration of pauses or silences within the content.

Claim 7

Original Legal Text

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein if at (f) the counter is less than the second preset duration, performing (c) to (f) again.

Plain English Translation

Building on the initial description, if, after moving back and checking for silence, the counter is still less than the second preset duration, the process of moving back, checking for silence, and incrementing the counter repeats. This continues until a non-silent point is found or the maximum allowed skip-back is reached.

Claim 8

Original Legal Text

8. A non-transitory computer readable media storing programming instructions which when performed by a processor perform an operation of resuming playback of a media content, the operation comprising: (a) receiving a playback resume command; (b) initiating a counter to an initial value; (c) moving a playback pointer back a first preset duration in the media content; (d) checking for silence at the playback pointer; (e) incrementing the counter by the first preset duration; and (f) comparing the counter with a second preset duration, wherein if the counter is greater than the second preset duration, resuming the playback of the media content from the playback pointer.

Plain English Translation

A computer-readable storage medium contains instructions for resuming media playback by moving the playback pointer back a short, preset time (first preset duration), checking if there's silence, incrementing a counter and comparing it to another preset duration (second preset duration). If the counter exceeds this second duration, playback resumes. The counter is initially set to a starting value.

Claim 9

Original Legal Text

9. The non-transitory computer readable media of claim 8 , wherein if a pause operation is performed at a silence location in the media content and if the duration of the silent location is greater than the second preset duration, the playback of the media content is resumed from the location where the pause operation was performed.

Plain English Translation

The computer-readable storage medium from the previous description, which resumes media playback, also includes the logic that if a pause happened during a silent part longer than the second preset duration, playback resumes from the exact pause point.

Claim 10

Original Legal Text

10. The non-transitory computer readable media of claim 8 , wherein the first preset duration is provided by a user.

Plain English Translation

The computer-readable storage medium described earlier for resuming media playback, wherein the initial skip-back duration (first preset duration) is configurable by the user.

Claim 11

Original Legal Text

11. The non-transitory computer readable media of claim 8 , wherein the second present duration is provided by a user.

Plain English Translation

The computer-readable storage medium described earlier for resuming media playback, wherein the maximum skip-back duration (second preset duration) is configurable by the user.

Claim 12

Original Legal Text

12. The non-transitory computer readable media of claim 8 , the operation further including calculating the first preset duration through scanning of the media content.

Plain English Translation

The computer-readable storage medium from claim 8, which describes a method for resuming playback, further includes instructions to calculate the initial skip-back duration (first preset duration) by automatically analyzing the media content.

Claim 13

Original Legal Text

13. The non-transitory computer readable media of claim 8 , the operation further including calculating the second present duration through scanning of the media content.

Plain English Translation

The computer-readable storage medium from claim 8, which describes a method for resuming playback, further includes instructions to calculate the maximum skip-back duration (second preset duration) by automatically analyzing the media content.

Claim 14

Original Legal Text

14. The non-transitory computer readable media of claim 8 , wherein if at (f) the counter is less than the second preset duration, performing (c) to (f) again.

Plain English Translation

The computer-readable storage medium described earlier for resuming media playback, if the silence check fails and the counter is less than the maximum duration, the skip-back, silence check, and counter increment process repeats.

Claim 15

Original Legal Text

15. A device, comprising: a processor; a memory, wherein the memory includes a media playback application, the media playback application is configured to perform an operation, the operation including: (a) receiving a playback resume command; (b) initiating a counter to an initial value; (c) moving a playback pointer back a first preset duration in the media content; (d) checking for silence at the playback pointer; (e) incrementing the counter by the first preset duration; and (f) comparing the counter with a second preset duration, wherein if the counter is greater than the second preset duration, resuming the playback of the media content from the playback pointer.

Plain English Translation

A device for resuming media playback includes a processor and memory. The memory contains a media playback application that, when executed, moves the playback pointer back a short, preset time (first preset duration), checks for silence, increments a counter and compares it to another preset duration (second preset duration). If the counter exceeds this second duration, playback resumes. The counter is initially set to a starting value.

Claim 16

Original Legal Text

16. The device of claim 15 , wherein if a pause operation is performed at a silence location in the media content and if the duration of the silent location is greater than the second preset duration, the playback of the media content is resumed from the location where the pause operation was performed.

Plain English Translation

The device from the previous description for resuming media playback, also includes the logic that if a pause happened during a silent part longer than the second preset duration, playback resumes from the exact pause point.

Claim 17

Original Legal Text

17. The device of claim 15 , wherein the first preset duration is provided by a user.

Plain English Translation

The device described earlier for resuming media playback, wherein the initial skip-back duration (first preset duration) is configurable by the user.

Claim 18

Original Legal Text

18. The device of claim 15 , wherein the second present duration is provided by a user.

Plain English Translation

The device described earlier for resuming media playback, wherein the maximum skip-back duration (second preset duration) is configurable by the user.

Claim 19

Original Legal Text

19. The device of claim 15 , the operation further including calculating the second present duration through scanning of the media content.

Plain English Translation

The device from claim 15, which describes a method for resuming playback, further includes the function to automatically calculate the maximum skip-back duration (second preset duration) by analyzing the media content.

Claim 20

Original Legal Text

20. The device of claim 15 , wherein if at (f) the counter is less than the second preset duration, performing (c) to (f) again.

Plain English Translation

The device described earlier for resuming media playback, if the silence check fails and the counter is less than the maximum duration, the skip-back, silence check, and counter increment process repeats.

Classification Codes (CPC)

Cooperative Patent Classification codes for this invention. Click any code to explore related patents in that topic.

Patent Metadata

Filing Date

February 5, 2016

Publication Date

May 2, 2017

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